


ghost friend

by ryarya (ayrom)



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Drabble, Ghosts, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:40:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26607631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayrom/pseuds/ryarya
Summary: Nino turns an abandoned clubroom into his personal hideout. The ghost living in it greets him.
Relationships: Aiba Masaki/Ninomiya Kazunari
Kudos: 11





	ghost friend

**Author's Note:**

> beta'd by pikej

No one's been using the photography club's room for the last five years according to the principal, which means it's free for Nino's taking. Probably.

Morals aside, it's nice to have an entire room to himself. The staff said he could use it as long as he kept it neat and tidy, and even if he had to sweep away several cobwebs with hesitation, nothing beats having his own personal hangout place. The neighbouring English club doesn't bother him either, aside from the obnoxious yells of "THAT'S WRONG!" from an upperclassman.

Without any after school activities, Nino drops his schoolbag in the room as he flicks the lightswitch on. His sister's got her friends coming over, even emailing him not to come over unless he wanted to wake up to his Gameboy destroyed to smithereens. A threat against his life was nothing, but a threat against his Gameboy... the thought makes him shudder.

It's either that or the fact there's a ghost head looking up at him from his chest.

"What the--!" Nino shrieks, instinctively jumping backwards until his back slams against the door. He'd experienced worse pains in elementary, but it still makes him wince and reach for his sides.

"Crap, I'm sorry," a voice says, a little hushed. A hand holds onto Nino's wrist and shoulder, as if it were assessing his state. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I didn't think you'd get this scared, Nino..."

Nino's eyes shoot open wide once again, only to be faced with something that _certainly_ doesn't look ghost-y; instead of skin as pale as snow and graying hair, it's nothing but sun-kissed skin and cinnamon-brown hair that reminds Nino of the fresh soil he grows his tomatoes in back home.

Nino swallows hard at the ghost's eyes as he makes eye contact. Green, brown, green, brown -- he can't fucking tell. All he knows is that that weird dropout Ohno who keeps attending class probably slipped some acid into his milk carton and this guy is just a student Nino's never seen before. Yeah. That's much more logical and much more easier to accept.

Except it's _not_ what it is because Nino is 99% sure legs are not supposed to phase through other legs outside of shoddily-made video games.

So, naturally, Nino screams in surprise.

-

It takes a moment for him to calm down. Well, to reiterate, a few minutes of hyperventilating, some stolen kaarage convenient store bento, and a bottle of water. Who knew that ghosts could steal things without being noticed?

Now that Nino knows the lovely ghost -- Aiba -- is willing to steal for him, Nino is slightly less on edge than he first was. No soul-sucking, no body-stealing, no blood pacts that could only be broken if Nino killed himself by drinking a Seraphim's spit-juice. (He's clearly been playing too many fantasy games.)

Aiba just wanted friends apparently. 

So, Aiba's sitting cross-legged in front of him, babbling about how he haunted this little club room ever since he died. "It used to be a science club before the elitist dumbasses claimed that pickled eggs weren't science-worthy," Aiba grumbles, his expression almost cartoon-y. "Blegh. At least their club failed, too."

"So this used to be your clubroom?" Nino asks. All of this information is a little sudden and leaves his heart thumping too fast in his ribcage, but he'll manage. 

"Yeah," Aiba answers, kicking back. It's weird how some sort of sparkly dust appears with each movement Aiba makes, just as if he were straight out of a Disney movie. "I've always wanted to get my revenge, but the only people who came here were interested in pictures. All of them quit after I kept appearing in their photos, though."

Nino brings a hand to his mouth as he laughs. "No wonder, you're a fucking ghost."

"Asshole." Aiba sticks his tongue out, making another exaggerated blegh noise. Then, his eyes drop down, suddenly much more interested in the specks of sparkly dust around him. "It's just... I get lonely. Not even Yusuke sees me, since he's old now."

"Yusuke is your..." Nino bites on his lip. A feeling of _something_ settles in his gut, completely unnameable. It's strange and it spreads to his lungs the longer Aiba stays quiet, green-brown eyes avoiding his gaze.

"Little brother," Aiba answers, voice much weaker than his boisterous yell that Nino's found himself used to already. "He doesn't believe in ghosts anymore, so... I don't really have ties with anyone anymore."

Nino... Nino's never been good at comforting people. Or ghosts. The words in his brain almost always come out the exact opposite of what he wants to say, like his brain's translator's beyond fucked.

But for Aiba, the strange little ghost of the abandoned photography clubroom, Nino tries anyway. It's not what he originally meant, but he prays, just prays, the meaning still clings to his words, even if it's just like smoke lingering.

"I'll bring the science club back to life for you."


End file.
